Repaying the Debt and Returning the Favor
by BaloneyNomz
Summary: Peeta and Gale bonding? What? Just maybe... A series of three stories, that take place in continuity, and occur between The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Warning, this contains crack, slight AU, minor slash, and Katniss/Madge femslash if you squint.
1. Chapter 1

Gale sighed as he set another trap. _Katniss is late, _he thought to himself. _She's probably off with bread boy…_He frowned and stood up, looking over the trap he just set to make sure it was done right. It was, so he went on to set another one, trying to distract himself with the task and keep the images of his hunting partner/best friend/secret love tongue wrestling with Peeta Mellark out of his mind. He finished setting the next trap and started to stand again, but paused, as he heard someone coming in his direction, leaves crunching underfoot. He crouched back down, wary in case it was a Peacekeeper. _It's definitely not Katniss, she wouldn't make that much noise. _The crunching of leaves continued until he heard the person stop what couldn't have been ten yards away and mutter a soft "Damn it." _That voice_, Gale thought. It was voice he knew and did not particularly like. He stood up and went around the tree to see Peeta Mellark, not bothering to hide the surprise or the annoyance from his voice. "You, what are you doing here?" Peeta jumped, startled and turned around to face Gale, who couldn't suppress a smirk. "Oh. Erm, hi Gale. I was looking for Katniss." the blonde boy replied. looking a bit uncomfortable. "I see. Sorry, but I don't know where she is ether." said Gale. _So, she wasn't with bread boy after all. That makes me feel a little better, but I still wish I knew where she was. _Peeta frowned. "Wasn't she supposed to come hunting with you today?" Gale nodded with a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah she was supposed to meet me here about twenty minutes ago." "She wouldn't get lost out here, right?" Peeta asked, sounding doubtful but still worried. Gale shook his head. "Nope, she knows these woods better than anyone. I'm gonna wait another ten minutes before I go looking for her, do you want to make yourself useful and help me set a couple more traps?" he asked. Peeta nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, his eyes on something behind Gale. _What the hell is he staring at? _He turned to look and gasped at the sight of a grizzly bear cub. _No way! I didn't even think those were still around here, I haven't seen one in years…_"That's a bear, right?" Peeta asked, eyeing the small creature that was boldly making its way toward them. "Yeah" Gale answered not taking his surprised eyes off of it. "It's a grizzly cub." "It's really cute." Peeta murmured and walking toward the young animal, crouching in front of it and holding his hand out. The bear cub make a snuffling noise and sniffed Peeta's hand. Gale just gaped. "You sure that's a good idea?" Peeta shrugged. "It's just a little one, it can't really hurt me." when the young bear did not move away, Peeta actually put his hand on its back and began to stroke its fuzzy fur, and then was so bold as to scoop it up and put it on his lap. "It can't, but its mother can, and she's probably close by." Gale said, watching the cub nuzzle Peeta. As if on cue, a roar was heard and a raging mother grizzly came crashing through the trees, straight for Peeta. Both boys gasped and the blonde instantly dropped the cub, turning and running as fast as he could. The mother bear charged him, seething with maternal instinct and intending to tear the creature that 'threatened' her young limb from limb. Peeta stumbled and backed under a fallen log, narrowly avoiding the grizzly's claws she she swiped for him. _Shit! He's not gonna last much longer, he's trapped! _Gale looked out at Peeta, able to see the raw terror in his eyes even from a distance._ I gotta do something, and fast! _Gale grit his teeth, desperately trying to think of something he could do to save Peeta. Then, it hit him; _The cub! _He raced towards the young grizzly and kicked it as hard as he could, literally sending the small creature flying through the air. It did as he expected and let out a loud wail of pain and fear the moment it hit the ground, the mother paused in mid-swipe, her fury towards Peeta abandoned and her attention turned onto the source of her cub's distress. As quickly as he could, Gale scrambled up a tree, and she charged him with a roar. She swatted him right off of the branch, the tips of her claws catching his side. He landed squarely on his back, coughing as the breath was knocked out of him and unable to move when the grizzly mother swiped at him, her vicious claws ripping diagonally across his torso. Stars dotted Gale's vision as he heard the tearing of his own flesh and felt the searing pain. He went limp, completely limp and lax._ I'm gonna die, _was all he could think._ Katniss, I love you. I hope you're happy with Peeta, because I'm gonna freaking die for him…Mom, I'm sorry. _He shut his eyes, not wanting to see himself get mutilated by the bear. To his surprise though, she only bat around his body for a few moments, satisfied and uncaring now that he was limp and no longer a threat to her baby. She gave a satisfied grunt and lumbered off. "Gale? Gale!" he opened his eyes, seeing Peeta hovering over him his stricken face contorted in horror and worry. "P-Peeta, I'm gonna die, plea-" "No!" the blonde cut him off sharply, shaking his head. "Don't even start that, you're not gonna die. Hang on, I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?"_ Stupid bastard, I just saved your life, don't cut me off and don't lie to me…_Gale thought, but stayed silent as he watched Peeta take off his jacket and press it to his profusely bleeding wounds. He was quite lightheaded and bemused to find that he felt no pain. "Still with me?" Peeta asked, looking at the older male anxiously and still pressing his jacket to the wounds, which seemed to be slowing the bleeding but still failed to stop it. Gale didn't answer, aware of the question, but unable to speak as shock caught up to him. And then there was another voice, the voice he'd longed to hear all day. Katniss's voice. "Peeta! Gale! Oh, Gale! What the fuck happened?" She shrieked, running up and getting down next to Peeta, bending over her wounded best friend. _Oh good, I get to see her one last time. _ Gale thought to himself dully as he looked up at Katniss, able to recognize her easily despite his blurred and wavering vision. "I'll give you the details later, we gotta help him." Peeta replied and then to Gale's surprise, the blonde scooped him up, and held him tightly. The last thing he was aware of before the blackness overtook him, was being pressed to Peeta's chest and feeling the younger male's heartbeat.

~X~

"Ungh" Gale opened his eyes with a groan and took in his surroundings. To his surprise, he was not in any sort of Heaven, but in fact in a rather familiar room. The room of Katniss Everdeen, and he was not just in her room, but in her bed. He blushed slightly at that knowledge and started to sit up, but his throbbing torso complained and he laid back down. "Welcome back to the world of the living." Gale turned his head to the side to see a grinning Peeta, seated beside the bed in an old wicker chair. "You…I'm alive?" Gale blinked. Peeta nodded. "Yeah, you're alive. Scared the hell out of us, though. You want some water?" _'Us'? _He thought, but nodded, actually quite thirsty. He sat up as slowly as possible, ignoring the antagonizing protests in his bandaged chest and abdomen and gratefully accepting the glass of water Peeta held out to him. Just sitting up was enough to make a wave of dizziness wash over him, and Peeta must have noticed this, because the next thing he knew, the blonde was gently easing him back down. "Where's Katniss?" Gale couldn't help asking. "Out with Prim, gathering healing herbs for you. Her mom used what they had on you, but apparently, they're gonna need more to fight off infection." Gale gave a slight nod. "Ah…So what are you doing here?" he looked at him questioningly. "Katniss's mom didn't think you should be left alone, so I stayed with you. Besides, I wanted to thank you for saving my life and all." Peeta answered. Gale shrugged and instantly regretted it, wincing. "I couldn't exactly just run off and leave you to die." Peeta blinked and smiled softly. "Actually, you could have." _And why is he smiling about that? _"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did that, and even if I could live with myself, Katniss would have killed me." He smirked a little. "Besides, you repaid the debt, you saved me." Peeta shook his head. "Nah, Katniss's mom did that." "But she wouldn't have been able to, if you didn't carry me back here…Where is anyway?" He asked. "She went to go tell your family what happened to you." _My family! They need me, they probably haven't had anything to eat all day! _Gale sat up abruptly gritting his teeth when the searing pain followed, clutching his sides and doubling over. "Hey, take it easy!" Peeta lightly rested a hand on his back and gave him a concerned look. "Rest, okay? You were nearly slashed in half." Gale shook his head and just looked to Peeta, brow furrowing. "Peeta, how long was I out?" The younger male drew his hand from Gale's back. "About five or six hours, but don't worry about your family. Katniss gave her mom some game to take to them before she left. They'll be fine, now lay back down before you reopen those wounds." Ever so gently, Peeta eased Gale back down on the mattress. Gale slowly let himself relax, grateful to be sinking into its surprising softness, and pleased that it smelled of Katniss. "Hey Gale?" Peeta asked, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable. The older male raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Yeah?" "I"m sorry. I shouldn't have been messing with the bear cub in the first place. It was a pretty stupid thing to do." he murmured, blushing slightly in shame. "That's okay." Gale said quietly. "And I'm sorry about your jacket, I'm assuming it's all blood stained and gross now?" he asked, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, but that's okay." Peeta answered and chuckled. "You're stronger than I thought. You picked me up like I was nothing." the darker haired male said suddenly, looking at Peeta in mild wonder. The younger smiled slightly and gave a tiny shrug. "Well, I guess I built up some muscle tossing around sacks of flour over the years. And besides I wasn't really thinking about how heavy you were, I just knew we had to bring you back someway, so I just carried you." Gale gave a small nod of understanding and Peeta tilted his head, resting his elbows on his knees and propping his chin in his hands. "I'm surprised you even remember that, you know? You were pretty out of it by then." The older male blinked. "It's pretty much the last thing I remember…By the way, did Katniss ever say why she was late?" Peeta shrugged. "Kinda, she mentioned something about seeing Madge, but I didn't ask what for. Hey, do you want some more water or something? You look pale." The blonde added with concern. _Why? Why does he care so much! _"Damn it Peeta, stop that!" Gale groaned. "Stop what?" Peeta looked at him in confusion. "Stop being nice and stop caring. You love Katniss and I love Katniss, that makes us rivals. We're supposed to hate each other, but you make that really hard…" Peeta shook his head and looked back to him, and to Gale's surprise, he was grinning. "Now Gale, hatred is such a strong emotion. Don't you think it should be reserved for something more heinous? Like the Capital?" Gale paused for a moment and then smirked, holding out a hand. "Good man." Peeta nodded and shook his hand agreeably.


	2. Chapter 2

Gale nodded a polite greeting when the rather unfriendly looking woman opened the door. She looked him over, leaning against the doorframe with a hand on her hip. "You looking for Peeta?" She asked. "Yes ma'am." He nodded. "Hn, fine." She waved him in and pointed down a hall. "First door on the left, if you catch whatever he's got, don't say I didn't warn you." She walked off without waiting for a reply, so Gale did as she said and went to the first door on the left. He knocked softly on the door, and got a hoarse "Come in." in reply. He turned the knob and walked into the room. "Gale? What are you doing here?" The fever-flushed blonde on the bed pulled himself up on his elbows and stared with glassy, questioning eyes. "Katniss said you were sick and asked me to check up on you. She would have come herself, but she had some stuff to do with Madge today." He answered and sat down on a stepladder that was being used as a makeshift chair next to Peeta's bed. Peeta laid back down and nodded. "Yeah, she was here yesterday and mentioned going to see Madge, but she didn't say anything about sending you here." Gale shrugged, smirking. "She probably wanted to surprise you. So anyway, she did want me to check up on you, so how you doing?" Peeta groaned softly and shut his eyes. "I feel like shit." He muttered. "You look it." Gale replied and snickered. Peeta opened his eyes and gave Gale a glower, pouting. "Hey, I'm sick, you're supposed to be nice to me." Gale rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. What is it you came down with anyway?" Peeta started to answer, but broke off abruptly into a fit of coughing. _Well he sure sounds rough…_"My mom said it's the flu." the blonde finally managed to get out. "That sucks." the darker haired male replied. Peeta nodded and pulled the blanket up to his chin, he looked like he was shivering, but Gale couldn't be sure. After a few moments of awkward silence, Peeta was the one to say something. "Uh…Gale?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you still here?"

"…Do you want me to go?"

"No, just wondering why…" Gale shrugged. "I'm not too sure. I guess maybe it's to return the favor." Peeta tilted his head questioningly. "Return the favor?" the older male nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't too long ago that you stayed with me and kept me company when I was down and out." Peeta chuckled feebly but stopped before it turned into a cough. "That was about two months ago, right?" Gale nodded. "You couldn't really call it returning the favor though now, because I was returning the favor then, since you saved my life." said the blonde. Gale blinked. "Ah, nope. You returned the favor by carrying me back to Katniss's place. Sticking around with me was extra, so technically I am returning the favor now." Peeta thought that over for a moment and then nodded. "I can see that logic, and just out of curiosity, do you still have the scars?"_ No shit, I still have the fucking scars. I got slashed open by a bear, on what plane of existence does that not leave a scar?_ "Yeah, I still have them. You wanna see?" The younger male nodded. "Sure." Gale slowly pulled off his shirt, revealing the four deep claw marks etched in his skin, starting from the tip of his shoulder and ending roughly around his navel. He stood up so Peeta could get a better view. Peeta stared for a few moments. "Wow." Gale nodded and sat back down, not bothering to put his shirt back on. Peeta squirmed around under the blankets, looking quite uncomfortable as he tried to stifle a cough, which only resulted in a harsh coughing fit. Gale watched, brow furrowing. _He's pretty sick. _"Do you have any medicine you can take for that?" The younger male shook his head and shivered again, clinging to the thin blanket for warmth it wouldn't provide. Gale watched and despite himself, felt pity for his ill rival in love. "You're cold, right?" He asked. Peeta nodded wearily. Gale hesitated before speaking. "Don't get weirded out." he said. "Huh? Gale, what do yo-" Peeta broke off abruptly as the older male climbed into bed and slide under the blanket, wrapping his arms around him. He didn't fight the embrace, he just gaped, stunned into silence. "I told you not to get weirder out." Gale grunted. "I'm just sharing my body heat with you, since you looked so pitiful shivering like that." Peeta nodded after a moment and leaned into Gale, burying his face in his chest and closing his eyes. "You are nice and warm." he murmured. _And you're too warm, your hot. Absolutely burning up. I can feel the unnatural heat radiating off of you, and yet you were shivering so harshly. _"I wonder what Katniss would say if she saw this…" said Peeta suddenly. Gale scoffed. "She should say 'Thank you Gale for taking such good care of my Lover Boy'." he said, and he couldn't help sounding bitter. Peeta tipped his head back to look at Gale, chin still resting lightly on his chest. "Katniss loves you Gale." The darker haired male shook his head. "Not the way she loves you." Peeta shook his head. "You don't kno-" he choked back a cough and squirmed so that he as facing away from Gale, though the older boy's arms were still draped loosely around him. He starting coughing again, another painful fit that left him breathless and shuddering. Gale frowned and leaned over, studying Peeta with surprisingly concerned eyes. "You want me to go get you some water, or something?" The ill blonde sighed out slowly and shook his head. He turned and once again pressed himself to Gale. "I'll turn again if I have to cough." He promised and buried his face in the chest of the darker haired male. Gale gave a slight nod and held Peeta a little closer, his mind wandering in the silence that had taken over. He thought about Katniss of course, she was always on his mind. He wondered what it was she and Madge were off doing and pondered their hunting plans for tomorrow. Hunting made him think about his family, and shortly after he found himself thinking about his dad. Thinking of his dad of course led him to think about mining; an occupation he knew he would soon have to take up, and it was then that his thoughts were broken with the realization that Peeta had fallen asleep in his arms. _Well hell…_Gale shook his head and moved one hand up, brushing his fingers through Peeta's unkempt hair, deicing to straighten it since he really had nothing else to do. Soon enough, he was absentmindedly stroking the shaggy blonde mop.

~X~

Gale coughed harshly and laid back down in his bed, shivers running up his spine. He groaned softly and gingerly rubbed his raw throat. He officially felt like shit. Three days after he'd visited the ill Peeta Mellark, he'd begun to feel a bit off. He felt off for the entire day, a little worn out, a little bit of a cough. He tried to write it off, but by the next morning, he was nauseous and burning with fever. He'd had to pass on hunting that day, which pissed him off because he had found another person to sell game too. It was now the day after that day, and he didn't feel better, if anything he felt worse. _Why? Why did I have to cuddle the bread boy? Damn it all! _He shut his eyes and rolled onto his side, a little surprised when he heard the knock at the door. The only person he could think it to be would be Katniss, as she had said she would come, but not until later._ I guess she decided to stop by early._ "Come in." he called hoarsely and sat up. He narrowed his eyes a little upon seeing the familiar blonde he caught the illness from walk through the door. "What are you doing here?" Peeta chuckled and crossed the room, climbing into bed with the older boy and putting his arms around him. "Returning the favor." he answered with a grin


	3. Chapter 3

Gale returned to the familiar spot under a tree that he often went to in the few moments he let himself relax. He sat down and leaned back against the trunk, for now nothing but the good weather on his mind. He wasn't sure when he started to doze off, but he knew it wasn't too long before he woke up to the sound of a twig breaking behind him. His eyes snapped open and he glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, it's just you." he said flatly, seeing his rival. He wondered why the blonde was doing here, but didn't find it worth asking so he turned around. "Hello to you too Gale." Peeta muttered, coming around to the front of the tree and plopping down on the grass in front of Gale. The older boy raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Erm…" Peeta averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck, looking more than a little uncomfortable. "What is it?" Gale asked, frowning slightly. "I saw something today. So I…Erm, came to talk to you." The blonde male said quietly, looking almost shy. "You saw something…?" Gale asked, dubious. _What the hell would he see that would make him want to come talk to me, of all people? _Peeta nodded. "I…Well, Katniss kissed Madge." He said bluntly, looking back to Gale. The darker haired male just stared in shock and confusion. _What the fuck! _Peeta waves his hands back and fourth when he saw Gale's expression. "N-No! It wasn't like that, it was just a thank-you kiss. You see, Madge bought a stuffed animal for Prim. The kiss-It was barley even a kiss, their lips were only touching for a second! It definitely wasn't like how Katniss kisses me…" Gale frowned, inwardly wincing at the last part of the statement. "Okay, if it wasn't a big deal, then why are you here?" Peeta looked down. "Well you've kissed a lot of people before, right?" he asked. Gale sighed in exasperation. "What does that have to do with anything?" Peeta blushed a little then, and if he didn't look shy before he definitely looked shy now. "Seeing Katniss kiss Madge just made me realize that I've never kissed anyone but Katniss, and I've never been kissed by anyone but her either. Not even a friendly kiss like the one she gave Madge." Gale ran a hand through his hair. "I see. To answer your question, yeah I've kissed a lot of girls." Peeta nodded. "I thought so…They all taste different, right?" _Ah, I see now. He's curious about kissing since he's only had experience with one girl. _The older male chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, they all taste different. Some better than others." He told him. "When you kiss a girl and she kisses back; it always feels different, right?" Gale blinked and gave another small nod. "Pretty much. Some girls kiss back a little rougher than others, some are more impatient than others. And of course, it depends on the type of kissing." Peeta looked a little more comfortable now. "Yeah I would think so. Have you ever kissed a guy?" Gale paused, surprised by the question. _Kiss a guy? Ugh. That doesn't sound too appealing. Not absolutely disgusting, but definitely something I'm not eager to try…_After a few minutes the older male shook his head. "No. The idea hadn't even occurred to me." Peeta breathed out a soft laugh. "Yeah, it never really occurred to me, either until today. I thought about it after seeing Katniss kiss Madge, you know, since they're both girls." "But that wasn't a romantic kiss." Gale pointed out. "It was a gratitude kiss." "But it was still a kiss." Peeta murmured. Gale gave a shrug and the clearing fell silent again. "Would you kiss me?" Peeta asked after a few minutes, looking to Gale with shy and curious eyes. "I just want to know how it feels." He blushed slightly. The darker haired male looked at him for a long moment and slowly nodded. Peeta scooted closer and took in a breath. Gale leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to the blonde's. Peeta closed his eyes and parted his lips against Gale's, softly pressing back. _Well hell. I never saw this coming. _Gale thought dryly and pulled back. Peeta opened his eyes and pulled back as well, wordless. "Happy now? Gale asked him. Peeta looked to him, swallowing. "I should return the favor…?" He murmured hesitantly. Gale looked back at him, and despite himself he gave a nod. Peeta scooted forward again and tilted Gale's chin up, softly brushing his lips over the older boy's. Gale responded, warmly pushing their mouths together and to his own surprise, raising his hands to run his finger's through Peeta's hair. _Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this, and why do I like it? _Gale couldn't answer the questions he posed himself and he didn't care as Peeta kissed him again. There was a moment when Peeta quivered that Gale thought the kiss would escalate, but it did not and instead it broke mutually; both boys pressing their lips together once more in a surprisingly tender moment and then pulling back. Gale slowly slid his fingers out of Peeta's hair and laid back on the ground. He folded his arms behind his head and looked up to the sky. Peeta laid back beside him in a similar position.

"Hey Gale?"

"Hm?"

"What kind of a kiss would that be considered?"

"A gay one."

"That's not what I meant…"

"A weird one."

"…"

"…"

"That sounds about right."


End file.
